Photo courtesy of Roots Rx
Colorado was one of the first states to legalize cannabis recreationally back in 2012. By passing Amendment 64, it legalized the possession and sale of cannabis and has since grown to have one of the most established legal cannabis markets in the country.
While the possession, sale, and distribution became legal a decade ago, the federal status never changed, meaning the Colorado cannabis industry is still heavily regulated.
In other words, you can still get in trouble for possession, use, and distribution if it violates state laws. Given that the high country alone has hundreds of recreational dispensaries, many consumers want to check out what’s available to them.
Whether you’re trying to stock up on a certain brand or strain that’s hard to find or simply want to explore all the dispensary options in your area, here’s everything you need to know about visiting multiple Colorado dispensaries in one day.
Can anyone walk into a dispensary in Colorado?
Nope, there are restrictions around who can enter a dispensary and purchase cannabis products. In fact, all dispensaries in Colorado – medical or recreational – will have someone waiting to check your ID.
This ensures that both you and the dispensary are following the rules laid out by the state. In order to purchase adult-use cannabis in Colorado, you must:
- Be 21 years or older and;
- Have a valid, government-issued ID, or passport
It is actually a felony for anyone to give, sell, or share cannabis with anyone under 21. So, you can understand why dispensaries would want to be careful.
Can I visit multiple dispensaries in one day?
Technically, yes! There is nothing stopping you from visiting every single dispensary in the state in 24 hours if you really wanted. However, that doesn’t mean you can purchase from multiple dispensaries in one day.
When Colorado legalized cannabis in 2012, it became legal under state law in specific quantities. According to the State of Colorado, you are limited to buying adult-use cannabis up to 1 ounce of cannabis at a time, and that includes concentrates and edibles.
Photo courtesy of Roots Rx
Can I purchase the legal limit at multiple dispensaries in Colorado?
In the early days of legalization, loopholes like this one probably worked. Many states don’t start out with central point-of-sale systems that communicate with one another.
In other words, at one point in time, you probably could have walked into one dispensary to purchase an ounce, and then gone into another one to purchase another ounce.
However, the industry is changing rapidly and newer technologies are emerging that do in fact communicate. For instance, in states like Massachusetts, computer systems will log your purchase at a dispensary and share that information across all the other dispensaries in the state so your purchase limit is locked into the ounce limit per individual per day.
Similarly, Colorado calculates the amount purchased daily, which means the state will know how much you purchased in a single day by the end of the day.
While not every dispensary in Colorado communicates with one another the same way states like Massachusetts do, there are some that are connected.
Additionally, while dispensaries themselves may not be aware of your purchase activity that day, you would be over the legal possession limit and could be subject to consequences if caught.
With that being said, you can purchase up to the legal limit across multiple dispensaries in a day. For instance, a quarter of an ounce at one dispensary and half an ounce at another.
What happens if I am caught with more than the legal possession limit?
As with any law, there are penalties for breaking the laws around the legal possession of cannabis. According to NORML:
- Possession of more than 2 ounces is a Drug Petty Offense that is punishable by a maximum fine of $100. You can expect to be summoned for a mandatory court appearance.
- Possession of more than 2 to 6 ounces of cannabis is a Level 2 Drug Misdemeanor, punishable by up to 1-year imprisonment and a maximum fine of $700.
- Possession of more than 6 ounces to 12 ounces is a Level 1 Drug Misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to eighteen months of imprisonment and a fine of $500 – $5000.
- Possession of more than 12 ounces is a Level 4 Drug Felony which is punishable by 6 months – 2 years of imprisonment, as well as a fine between $1,000-$100,000.
Information sourced from Norml.org
Buying Recreational Cannabis in Colorado
As you can see, it isn’t a good idea to hit up multiple dispensaries in one day and purchase the legal limit at each of them. Besides, you’d be surprised at how much use you can get out of just a few ounces.
In fact, for reference, one ounce of cannabis is 28g which is roughly a full sandwich-size Ziploc bag of flower. If you’re more of an edibles fan, there’s a little more math involved.
Most edibles are packaged with 100mg of THC total, normally across 10, 10mg pieces. 1 100mg Edible equals 3.5g of flower. So you can purchase 8, 100mg edibles a day for a total of 800mg of edibles. Which is alot! Especially considering one dose of edibles is 10mg.
However, we understand that buying recreational cannabis in Colorado can seem overwhelming. There are lots of different options. At Roots Rx, we have six locations in the state, all equipped with some of the most intelligent and well-trained budtenders.
All our locations offer a wide variety of strains, flower prices, and cannabis products so you can shop with ease and clarity. Browse our online menu and order ahead or come visit us at a Roots Rx near you.
